The Blue Phoenix
by auragonian
Summary: A new thief is starting to pop up in Tavern gossip around Faerun. Unfortunately, he manages to piss off Jarlaxle. While he tries to figure out who this masked rogue is, Drizzt encounters another drow in Silverymoon. Is he connected to the Blue Phoenix? Who is this theif, and what is his secret hidden behind his mask? Read and find out. AU, Events leading to 4E never happened.
1. Chapter 1

The Blue Phoenix

_Author's Notes: Okay, here's the deal. This is my first Forgotten Realms fic with R.A. Salvatore's characters appearing, specifically Artemis, Drizzt, and Jarlaxle so I don't own them. HOWEVER! Due to my little knowledge of canon events, I will say now that this will be an AU where the changes made to Faerun for the fourth edition never happened. Also, there will be a drow house showing up where the members don't act like your usual drow. This is on purpose due to an idea I had concerning a possible "Mad House" hidden in the Underdark, and been around long enough after abandoning Lolth that after many,many failed attempts to get rid of them, chose to just ignore them and move on from the crazy, drow shaped chaotic good cockroaches while they become a thorn in her side she can't get rid of. So please, no flaming me because you think I'm writing drow wrong. _

_With that out of the way, let's begin!_

~O~

Jarlaxle was in shock as he stared at what was standing in front of him.

It was a drow, he hoped, wearing a blue bird like mask, a white shirt, black boots, and the vest, pants, cape, and strip of cloth tying back the drow's long white hair being various shades of blue that matched the mask. However, the main problem with that though, was that this madman was younger, most likely in his 50s and not even a soldier of the Underdark, and he was currently holding the gem he had come for. Topping all off though, was the fact this upstart was giving Jarlaxle a smile, not the "I'm going to murder you in your sleep" smile drow give normally. This smile told Jarlaxle point blank, "I'm enjoying myself, so buzz off." This was the smile he had used so many times himself in the past, and being on the receiving end of it, pissed him off, especially combined with the exchange between them.

"What are you staring at Oldtimer?" the younger rogue asked, putting the gem in a blue bag at his side. "You look like you never seen someone beat you to the punch before."

Oldtimer? Jarlaxle? This brat seemed to be treading on thin ice as Jarlaxle gave a glare while he still smiled. "Listen kid, do you have any idea who you are talking to? I am the great Jarlaxle Baenre. Hopefully a drow worth his blade in the Underdark should know that name would mean something to you. Now why don't you go back to your raiding party and get your blooding done with already, or are you worried the matrons will kill you if you return dressed in that monstrosity?"

Instead of compliance like he expected, the male laughed.

"You think I'm…. Oh man, do _you_ have some things to learn, I'm not the kind of drow you think I am, not at all, not at all." He said, wagging a finger, "I'm not a Lolthie like most of the Underdark, I'm not even _from_ the Underdark in the first place. I'll let you think on that one there _Jarhead Bunjiro_. Though, I'm surprised you call my outfit a monstrosity when you wear that eyesore you call a cape."

Jarlaxle's eye twitched at that statement. He was confused by what this brat meant by not being from the Underdark, there was no way a drow could have been born on the surface without being discovered, right? He didn't seem to be a half drow, and there didn't seem to be any reason a sane drow would marry an elf if that was the case. He was going to leave to think on that, but then the idiot called him that name and mocked his outfit.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he yelled, rage obvious.

"I'm saying you look like a colorblind flamboyant fruitball." His counterpart said, nearing the edge of the cliff they were standing on. The moonlit waters of Lake Mulsantir below them after a steep drop. "But now, I must depart, rogues must keep moving after all, and I have business to take care of in the Southwestern area of Faerun. Farewell Jarhead Bunjiro! Next time, I may steal the hat off your head! The Blue Phoenix… must fly!" With a laugh, he jumped backward with a flip, and hugging his cape close as he fell downwards, was gone when Jarlaxle moved to see if he hit the water. There was no sign of him when the drow checked, and angry he had lost not only the gem he had come to swipe for himself, but also that some kid had acted like that towards him. To Jarlaxle, this meant war, and when there was war, there was time to gather information, and when that happened… well, there would be another irritated drow in the form of Kimmuriel, dragged once again into his boss's affairs.

Jarlaxle then pulled out the whistle he used to call Kimmuriel, and blew on it. Once the psion showed up, he only said one thing in his obvious rage.

"Kimmuriel, there is an upstart who has threatened my hat, and insulted me before escaping. He calls himself the Blue Phoenix, and seems to be drow. I want you to find out as much as damn possible about this punk. Where he comes from, what house he is a part of, his history, his antics, anything. I want this information to be top priority, understand?"

_Huh, someone was stupid enough to push all of Jarlaxle's buttons, and managed to get away without a scratch? Either this Blue Phoenix is very powerful, very lucky, or very, very stupid. _Kimmuriel thought as he nodded silently. "Yes. I'll get on it immediately, anything this character said about himself you deem important?"

"That bastard claimed he never came from the Underdark. Of course, he may be lying to try and throw off his scent." Jarlaxle growled.

"Very well, I'll start with any drow male in Menzobarranzen with suspicious activity, and expand from there." Kimmuriel said, immediately returning through the portal to Bragen D'aearth's headquarters before Jarlaxle could take his rage out on him.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Silverymoon, one month later.**_

Drizzt Do'Urden walked down the street of the city, thinking to try and get a quick drink before he returned to his currently lonely duties in Glimmerwood. As he neared the tavern, he saw a crowd across the street, and curious about what was going on, walked over. The crowd was centered on a hooded figure in a scarlet cloak; his arms covered in pale yellow sleeves were crossed over a dark red vest, the cloak being open enough to show brown leather pants, and black boots. He was curious what this stranger was going to do, and saw the sign next to him.

**Come see the wandering Acrobat Killik Rydrion!**

**Watch as he surprises you with his stunts and feats only the mad would try!**

The crowd started whispering as he remained still, and the ranger caught a few tidbits.

"When is he going to do something?"

"Can anyone see what's under the cloak?"

"What sort of stunts would be only tried by a madman anyway?"

"I… think he might be asleep."

That last one caused the crowd to fall silent, and the sound of a soft snoring could be heard coming from the cloaked man. There was a quick groan as he lifted his head and looked around, and after a few moments chuckled in embarrassment.

"Whoops, sorry about that folks!" he said, "I didn't sleep so well on the cart ride here last night, so I guess I fell asleep standing up."

The crowd, Drizzt included, laughed only for a collective gasp to be heard as he lowered his hood, showing the face of a teenage, silver eyed drow. His white hair pulled back by a red strip of cloth, and then braided. He then took off the cloak and laid it on the sign, before giving a bow to his audience.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Killik Rydrion, a wandering acrobat and as you can see, a drow. I am not a bad guy though, in fact, I'm a pretty nice one, I've entertained orphans, helped old ladies out with their housework, and happen to have lived most of my life among elves down in the Eastern Shaar."

"Hold up!" a person in the crowd shouted, "It's common knowledge that drow and elves can't stand each other, so why would an elf tolerate a Lolth Lover?" This comment earned the heckler a brief glare from the younger drow, before he answered the question.

"First off, not all drow are Lolth worshippers," he said, sending a glance toward Drizzt and smirking, the ranger raising an eyebrow. "Second, it's amazing what rescuing a woman from a group of orcs can do, especially for a man that was raised in a house considered 'mad' by Drow standards. Meaning, that there are exceptions to the rules." Killik said, before grinning and clapping his hands together.

"But, now that I've said my story, you have been sticking around during my nap to see a show right?"

"YES!" the crowd yelled, nearly causing the young drow to stumble.

"Alright then, LET'S BEGIN!" The drow said, giving a bow, before turning his back to the crowd, and running towards a wall, jump stepped off of it and going into a backwards somersault where he landed on his feet. The crowd clapped but he wasn't done yet, as he then climbed the side of the wall like a spider and, moving quickly so he won't slip, made it to roof, and leapt over the nearby alley. Drizzt watched as the younger drow soon jumped off the other roof, pull something out of his belt pouch, and was soon swinging over the crowd on a wire going from the hand crossbow he held, to the building across the street. At the crest of his swing, the male used the strange device to recall the hook and used the momentum to increase his height more as he curled up into a ball, somersaulted through the air as he descended. Finally straightening himself out as he landed safely on the ground right in front of Drizzt, causing the ranger to flinch, and gave a bow to the crowd as the people cheered.

"Thank you, thank you, I'm glad you liked the starter, now then, usually I'd try to cross a clothesline or a rope between two buildings but, since I can't see any right now, I'll have to leave that out of the show this time." He said, getting another laugh as he walked until he was standing next to his sign again. "However, this next act requires I have someone to help out, and have some more space to move around in."

The acrobat's eyes scanned the audience, and putting a hand up to shield them from the sun as he looked for a volunteer. Though a small group of women were raising their hands and waving to try and get his attention, the man's eyes landed on Drizzt, a grin forming on the performer's face.

_He isn't._ The ranger thought, not really in the mood to make a fool of himself.

"Well ladies and gentlemen," Killik said, "It seems we have a celebrity watching with you today, right Mister Do'urden? Come on, give the guy a hand, I'm sure this will be even more entertaining with such a great swordsman helping, right?"

_He planned this when he spotted me, didn't he? _Drizzt thought as he attempted to leave, only to be pushed toward the younger drow by the audience, who clapped as he made it to the small area against his will. "I'd rather not make a fool out of myself at the expense of others." He then said, causing the younger drow to pout comically.

"Oh wow, what a grump." He said jokingly and adding in a comical pout, "You don't even know what this next act is, so how do you know you'll embarrass yourself?"

"This is usually how these things go, correct? The performer makes a selection, and the person 'helping' is usually humiliated or used to hold things."

Killik then laughed, "Oh don't worry all you'll be doing is trying to trip me up with your scimitars, while I attempt not to get hit. Like a one-sided sparring match and I'll tell you what, if you do manage to trip me, I'll buy you a drink at the tavern, deal?"

"And if I fail to trip you at all?" Drizzt asked, sensing a catch, and wondering what this younger drow was thinking.

"Smart man," Killik said, smiling, "If you can't trip me within… hmm… five minutes? Yeah, that sounds fair, if you can't trip me within five minutes, then you'll buy me a drink. Deal?"

Drizzt thought for a moment, and seeing no tricks within this simple bet, nodded in agreement. "Deal." He said, and Killik turned to the audience and shouted happily.

"You heard it here folks! Five minutes to try and trip me, loser buys drinks for both him and me!" he said, and turned back towards Drizzt. "Draw your swords, and let's give these people a show they won't forget!"

Killik then grinned as Drizzt drew the twin scimitars, and swung across the ground, the performer jumped over the move, and then the ranger swung upward diagonally, only for his target to duck that and roll to the side. Every swing was met with a dodge, and soon the ranger got an idea. He swung Twinkle towards Killik's waist, while Icingdeath went toward the other side. When Killik jumped, Drizzt expected him to land further back; however when the landing was made the eyes of the crowd and Drizzt widened in surprise, for the younger drow had instead landed on the crossed scimitars. The silence of the awe struck crowd lasted only a few seconds, as the performer spoke up then.

"Tick tock tick tock! Time's halfway u-whoa!" Unfortunately, the performer had gotten a bit cocky when he shifted on the blades, which led to him losing his balance and landing on his side. The crowd laughed as he sat up and rubbed his head in embarrassment and chuckled along. "Well, I guess you win Drizzt! We'll head across the street after one last trick!" Killik then said, taking the hand the older drow offered to help him up. Once back on his feet, he reached into the bag held on the back of his belt, and pulled out a beautiful ivory harp that had jade vines and lapis lazuli roses set into it. He then held it up for everyone to see, before speaking again.

"Now, this harp was once owned by a Halfling bard who was in love with my mother, long before she met my father, and she had loved him as well. But… their love was not to be, for one week after they were engaged, the bard died saving my mother from a Basilisk. He was bitten and as the poison took his life away, he gave his harp to her, telling her that no matter what happened, he'd always love her, his Cloudy Sky Rose." Killik paused then, to let the tale sink in, Drizzt wondering just what the performer was going with the tale, "Back then, this was just an ordinary, but beautiful harp. However, my mother told me that the day I was born, the harp began to play itself, and she thought she saw a vision of her lost love playing it before turning into a phoenix and vanishing with a smile. Perhaps the bard's spirit shifted into that form and enchanted the harp, or it may have been something else, whatever the truth may be, the fact now is that this very harp, when played, can allow anyone within a ten meter radius to see the astral plane!"

Whispers spread through the crowd then, some wondering if this was true, some calling the acrobat a liar. Drizzt himself raised an eyebrow at this, and Killik, ignoring the crowd's doubt, began to play. The song was a quick paced, cheerful tune that held an air of hope towards a bright future from the tone, as he moved his fingers across the strings gracefully. Then it happened, the air around the crowd grew slightly cooler, and someone shouted and pointed at the sky, and then frantically at Drizzt.

"Th-there's a phoenix above us, a-a-and a panther just appearing near Do'Urden!"

The ranger flinched, never having called out Guenwhyvar and looked at the panther with surprise. The beast's eyes looked back at him giving a confused look that said, "How can I be seen here, and yet still be unsummoned?"

"I do not know." Drizzt said, reaching out to touch the panther, and surprised he could at all. "It seems that harp is indeed magical." The ranger then looked up and saw the phoenix flying gracefully through the sky, the strangest thing though, was that it was made of blue flame as it moved, leaving a trail behind it. The spirit bird moved through the air with various loops, spins, and the precision of an expert dancer. It was a beautiful and amazing sight to the crowd, and when Killik had finished playing, the bird had dived down towards the harp, and vanished before it perched itself on the frame. The crowd applauded and cheered as the younger drow bowed, and returned the harp to his bag, grabbed the cloak and sign, and raised two fingers on his right hand to his forehead in a lazy salute before flicking his wrist to the left. The performer smiled, and walked over to Drizzt as the crowd began to disperse, sensing the show was over, and spoke.

"Well, a deal's a deal, and I never go back on a deal. I owe you a drink." He said as he closed the clasp on his cloak. Drizzt noticed the clasp's design was made to depict a sun and a moon, separated by three pearl "stars". But, before he could ask about it, the younger drow walked ahead to the Tavern, turning his head momentarily to add something. "Besides, I'm sure you got some questions, don't you?"

Drizzt Do'Urden simply nodded and followed, wondering just what this chance meeting would lead to.

~O~

_Author's Notes: Alright! Sorry this took a while, It would have been done last week, but if Speech is evil in once semester, it's much worse in a month long summer school session._

_So, it seems there are 2 blue phoenixes in this story, one the thief, the other, more literal. Could there be a connection? Well, if I told that, that'd just ruin the story, now wouldn't it? Now then, the harp bit nearly didn't make it into the chapter. One reason is because I felt it might be a bit sue-ish for Killik, and I'm trying not to make my OC's into sues. Another reason was that it may have been cheap to end the act like that. But, I took a chance, and now I'll just have to wait and see where it ends up._

_Also, keep what Killik said about himself, and the harp in mind, because if you've read fanfiction or stories that has a character give a story or two, then you know that there is more to it than that! _

_I'd like to thank Reinmarie for the review, and for catching some mistakes I missed, they have been fixed, and I hope to get more reviews for this story as time goes on._


	3. Chapter 3

_**Calimport, earlier that day**_

Artemis rolled over in his bed, not yet wanting to get up. It had been a relaxing month since Jarlaxle had gone off on his own to Rashemen, and with the occasional job to kill this wizard, or get rid of that mercenary from a rare slow month in the normally busy criminal underworld of the city, the assassin was dreading the end of this peace. Unfortunately, while he should have been dead by now, there had been an incident involving a shade getting absorbed by his famous jeweled dagger, and extending his life greatly. That, combined with the sentient blade, Charon's Claw deciding to keep him alive as well for kicks, he had to come up with an alias and went into hiding for 20 years, before coming back to the assassin game under the name of "Barnabus Grey."

Opening his eyes slightly, he caught a glimpse of a familiar pair of boots, along with the inside of a very familiar cape and closed them again, pretending to still be asleep. _Fuck._ He thought to himself, _that pain in the ass drow is back. If I don't move, he'll get bored and leave. I am not getting dragged into another one of his schemes this early in the morning._

Jarlaxle, meanwhile had had a very difficult time locating Artemis, looking all over the city for his current place of residence for three hours straight. He didn't understand why he moved while the drow was away, and his mood after starting his personal hunt for the upstart that took _his_ prize and insulted _his_ sense of style had not yet faded. When he had checked on Kimmuriel, the psion had very little to report, as it seemed that very few of the young male drow in the Underdark had snuck up to the surface from the reports he received so far. The eyepatch wearing drow was not happy that this brat had managed to disappear, and had decided that it was time to play hard ball, and for that, he needed Artemis. Once Jarlaxle had finally found his ally's current home before dawn, he had broken in, went to the assassin's bedroom, and sat down in a nearby chair and waited for the assassin to get up.

The battle of wills had begun.

_**Silverymoon, now**_

Drizzt and his new acquaintance, Killik entered the tavern called "The Playful Pixie", and sat down at a table in the corner. The younger drow had chosen to keep his end of the deal they had made a little while ago, and while the ranger was suspicious of the performer's seemingly honest gesture, no thanks to his upbringing in the Underdark, he kept it hidden as a bar wench came to take their order. She was elven in appearance, with jaw length white hair and silver eyes, most likely a moon elf or related to one. She wore a simple, pale blue dress with a leather corset, and around her neck was a plain gold amulet on a leather strip around her neck, a small ruby shining in the center of it. The ranger hadn't seen her before today, and assumed she was a new employee.

"Hello lads, what can I get for you?" she said with a smile, while Killik spoke up before Drizzt could place an order.

"What do you recommend? I'm new in town, so I don't know what's good or not."

"Afraid I can't help you with that sir, first day on the job and all that." the waitress said, pouting a bit.

"Oh. Sorry ma'am! I'll just have whatever my friend here is getting." Killik replied, causing the ranger to sigh.

"Ale, and whatever the special is today meal wise, the young performer here will be paying for it." Drizzt told her, and the waitress gave a surprised look.

"A performer? Like, a bard or something?" she said, looking at Killik.

"No! No! I'm more of an acrobat really!" Killik said then, holding his hands up defensively, "Anyway, how much is it going to cost, total?"

"I'm sorry, I haven't memorized the prices yet, you'll have to talk to the owner to pay. I'll take you to him, sir."

While the ranger was alone at the table, he tried to think about what he had seen so far about the strange drow when Killik came back.

"250 gold for 2 ales and 2 specials? The owner just made me lose a stay at the inn…" he muttered before looking up at the ranger, a grin on his face. While the two waited for their order to arrive, they exchanged stories, Drizzt telling about the events concerning a crystal shard and a demon, while Killik told about performance he did in Shadowdale before arriving in Silverymoon.

"Unfortunately, some Shevarashi monks were riling the locals up with their 'all drow are evil' propaganda, as I found out when I ran into a member of the local militia. So I had to use some make up to disguise myself as an elf." Killik said, causing the ranger to hold a hand up in disbelief.

"Why didn't you use a scroll of illusion, or a magic item to do it?" he asked, not buying the story for a moment.

"What? And end up pissing off Elminster or get chased out of town because some mage uses true seeing out of suspicion, and goes 'HEY! He's not an elf, he's a drow spy!' because he bought the rotheshit those Shevarashi were spreading lumping drow like you and me in with all the others." He said and chowed down when the ale and meal, roasted chicken cooked in a stew with carrots, corn, and various herbs and spices arrived, "That's the problem with magical disguises and illusions, you'd have to avoid mages completely when you use them. And there's the trick to a great disguise, fooling people without using magic."

"I never thought about it like that before." Drizzt said, closing his eyes, "But, it must be difficult getting enough of it to cover your body when the need for it arises, correct?" He opened his again, and saw the younger drow was gone, half eaten food on his plate, and the ale untouched. Wondering where he went, and how he moved so fast and quietly for the ranger not to notice, he sighed, drained his mug, and spoke to the owner.

"Eh? The other drow? Oh yeah, he paid for everything, don't worry. Though, he just went out the door looking like he was going to hurl. Surprised he moved as fast he did too, if he had something to haste up the user on him, it's certainly getting a workout now!" the man said, chuckling at some unknown joke. The ranger nodded and left the tavern, thinking to at least find Killik to see if he was alright.

_**Calimport**_

Jarlaxle was growing impatient as the battle of wills continued between him and Artemis. Tapping his foot on the floor as the assassin continued to feign sleep, the drow leader of Braegan took off his hat, and pulled out a wand that he had used up the spell charges on. He then stood up while putting the hat back on, and walked over to the blanket covered lump on the bed.

"You've left me no choice but to do this Artemis." Jarlaxle said as he pointed the wand at the assassin…

… and started poking him with it. "Get up. Come on, get up. I'm not going to stop poking you until you do."

Artemis kept feigning sleep, doing his best to hold out as long as he could.

~O~

_Author's notes: Well, here's another chapter for you readers! And up faster than the previous one too! I had a hard time figuring out what to write past the waitress scene in this one, at first, Drizzt was going to reflect on Killik's personality, but that seemed like it was too early to do, then it would have been a convo between an old man and a character that's going to appear later speaking of an old thief, but that ended up distracting the story, so, I went with what you see here. What was wrong with Killik's meal that didn't affect Drizzt? Poison? Food Allergy? Something else? I'd tell you, but again, spoilers._

_Now then, Artemis appears, and Jarlaxle returns. How long will Artemis last against the poking? Eh, I'll leave that up to you readers to guess. Yes, I know Artemis becoming Barnabus is still happening in this fic, despite it being AU, but then again, if I didn't do this, I'd have to invent a new character to replace him… and then I'd get lynched by angry readers._

_Anyway, thank you for reading so far, and please leave a review! Next chapter, something is getting revealed for someone!_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Gates to Silverymoon, dusk.**_

Killik rested against the wall surrounding the city and caught his breath. He should have been more careful when he ordered the house special, but, the moment he had tasted that herb on his tongue, he knew was going to have trouble. He felt terrible for ditching Drizzt like that without warning, but, had to get out of there as quickly as possible, otherwise, he'd have some serious explaining to do when he got over his current state. The young drow was lucky the boots he got from his grandfather were similar to boots of speed, and helped him get out of the city quickly. However, he still had things to do in Silverymoon, and couldn't leave the area just yet. The young drow then started moving again, and stumbled his way towards the wood lands. His body was starting to develop a fever as he felt the acid in his stomach begin to rise. He forced the vomit back down as he kept going, believing that if he could find a cave or someplace safe to wait out his current sickness until it passed, he'd avoid having to explain a few things to anyone who found and healed the acrobatic drow. As he looked ahead, he saw a blue light appear infront of him, trying to lead him somewhere.

"Alright… Alright partner… I'm coming…" he said weakly to the light. Unfortunately, his vision began to blur and he lost his footing by tripping over a tree root. As he fell towards the ground, he felt someone, or something, catch him and looked briefly to see a pair of lavender eyes looking wide at him in surprise before he passed out.

~O~ Drizzt's side. ~O~

Drizzt headed towards the city gate, having been told by a patrolling guard that a red blur had headed that way. Knowing it was most likely Killik, the ranger intended to find young drow and drag him to a temple to get medical attention before nightfall, when the gates would be locked until morning. However, the moment he went through the gates, and saw the edge of Killik's cloak flutter as he spotted him move ahead. The ranger, wondering where the acrobat was going in his condition, went after him in concern.

"Alright… Alright partner… I'm coming…" Drizzt heard Killik say to no one. _Who is he talking to? He hasn't looked back at all since he left town, does he even know I'm following him?_ He thought to himself and noticed the younger drow was starting to stumble more and more, soon tripping. Moving quickly, the drow caught Killik before he hit the ground, his hood falling as his eyes widened in shock.

"Killik?!" he said, but he received no answer as the young drow passed out.

_**Silverymoon Streets, nightfall.**_

Amber eyes watched while a foot tapped with impatience as a cloaked figure stood outside The Golden Oak Inn. The stranger's cloak was a dark brown, with orange showing brightly to highlight the leafy designs embroidered into it, his boots and gloves were black, and the rest of his body it seemed, was hidden by the green and brown leather armor he wore. Of course, no one stopped to speak with him, afraid of the large beast sitting next to him, a dire wolf with a white muzzle and bright bony plates acting as natural armor showing in stark contrast to the rest of the animal's body, covered in fur as black as an eclipse, while yellow eyes glowed menacingly.

"Where in the nine hells is he?" the man said to himself, his partner letting out a whine. Brother was supposed to meet us here, so I can tell him about our sister's worries… ugh, I swear, if he ended up leaving town for some stupid reason, and gets killed… I'm going to die thanks to mother, your sire Argryn, and especially my older sister…"

At that moment, a female soldier walked by and saw the man in the cloak and his friend. She wore silvery looking armor, a helmet covered her head, and the sword at her side shone menacingly as she went over to talk to him.

"It's getting late, perhaps you should go inside and get some rest?" she said, "unless you're thinking of stirring up trouble."

The cloaked man flinched and stumbled through his reply when he saw the soldier, becoming a bit quieter. "Sorry ma'am… I was supposed to meet a drow with a scarlet cloak named Killik… he's my older brother. Have you seen him anywhere?"

"Oh? I saw someone fitting that description run out of town a little while ago. If you're quick, you could make it to the city gates before they close and try to find him. Though, I also said the same thing to Drizzt before running into you, and he seemed concerned about him, so I don't think you should worry. If things go well, you should be seeing your… brother tomorrow. Why are you hiding your appearance with that cloak anyway?"

"Erm… I'm a bit unusual looking… thank you for the information, I'll be going now." The cloaked man said, before getting on the wolf's back, and riding towards the gates as fast as it could go. For a brief moment, the silverguard though she saw a flash of blue on the man's wrist, but shrugged and continued her patrol.

_**Mithral Hall**_

Killik groaned as he felt something cold touch his body. Opening his silver eyes, he saw he was in a small cave, with a hearth providing light with its fire, and a bed which he was currently laying on. As he turned his head to get a better look, he saw a rug on the floor made from the fur of a bear, and from the looks of it, it was very recently added as it looked at least a year old. He saw Drizzt sitting in a chair nearby, his eyes closed, and the younger drow assumed the ranger was resting. Turning his head again to look upward, he reached up to his forehead, and felt a damp cloth, and saw his hand covered in purple spots.

"_Great. I'm possibly in Drizzt's home, covered in purple spots, and judging by the compress, he's been trying to take care of me…" _He thought to himself, and glancing down, saw his shirt and vest were both missing, the black skin of his torso also having purple spots, and a mithral tattoo on his chest showing a tribal looking sun surrounded by Uthgardt symbols shown in the fire light. _"Chances are, he's bound to have plenty of questions when he wakes up." _He then shifted his gaze to the foot of the bed, and smiled when he saw the blue phoenix he showed his audience earlier through the harp perched on the frame, a feeling of concern, and a bit of anger showing in how the flames around it moved while it stared at the drow.

"I know, I know." He whispered as quietly as he could, "I should have asked about the ingredients first to avoid this." Of course, he then tried to sit up, only for a hand to shoot out, and force him to stay on his back. Looking at Drizzt, the surprised Killik saw that the ranger had a very angry look in his lavender eyes.

"You aren't what you claim to be Killik." He said, "If that is your real name at all."

"Whatever do you mean Do'Urden?" the silver eyed drow asked, curious as to what the ranger might have discovered. Out of the corner of his eye, the phoenix flapped its wings and made a series of chirps and screeches, which went ignored by the ranger as he spoke.

"Your body is covered in these purple spots, you have a fever, and you vomited before I brought you to Mithral Hall. I have never seen this happen in a drow before, nor have I seen one with horns and a tail before."

That last sentence caused Killik to flinch, and he sighed. "When did you find out about my… other parts?"

"Last night. After you seemed to hallucinate seeing someone you called 'partner' because of the fever."

Killik coughed a bit before he answered, his gaze going to the phoenix having a conniption before going back the Drizzt. The Ranger followed the man's eyes with his own, and saw nothing, wondering if he was still seeing things from his curious ailment. "I… didn't hallucinate."

"What do you mean? I didn't see anything then, and yet you act like we are not alone in this room even now!" Drizzt said, his anger rising. He then noticed something about Killik's face. One of the spots looked like it was being covered by something near his left eye, and after wiping a bit away with his glove, saw a bit of sky blue. Getting another cloth and dipping it in water, he wiped the area around the eye, and saw that the blue formed a mark shaped like a bird that halfway taking off or halfway landing. "What is this? A Tattoo? Why hide it?"

Killik closed his eyes while Drizzt wiped away the black make up he used around his eye, and opened them back up, the look he gave hinting that he might as well tell the truth about his real appearance, and his strangeness.

"It's a birthmark. My father is a drow sorcerer named Myzriel, whose mother or grandmother, I forget which, was a succubus. His own father… was a normal drow, and while his bloodline didn't show in him, it really showed when I was born, my mother being taken completely by surprise when she saw me." Killik said, chuckling a little as he remembered the story he was told.

"And your mother? What was she?" Drizzt asked, "And what of Myzriel's father, who was he?"

"Hey, calm down with the questions! I'm sick, remember?" Killik said, "My paternal grand dad, is someone you met before, and if you ever meet my dad, or my younger brother, you'll know who it is immediately. That is all I will say about it. As for my mother… Now THAT is a bit more unbelievable."

"Try me. I have seen some things that can be considered such in my life." The ranger said, leaving the subject of who Killik meant alone for now, he would go through the list of drow he knew later.

"Alright… My mother… is a druid named Legode. She was was born in Riftwood to her mother, an elven cleric named Bethany, while her father, Derik was forced to wander Faerun thanks to a meddling monk named Serius."

"Why is that?"

"He was drow." Killik said, staring up at the ceiling. Drizzt was surprised, but figured it made sense in a way. He listened as Killik continued. "Because of her mixed heritage, my mother had blue skin strangely enough, grandfather Derik's eyes, and white hair. After I was born, it turned out that I could see things no one else could without using spells like True Seeing, or artifacts that worked the same way. While I saw many things, the one constant was my partner, Khrima, you saw him at the show yesterday."

Drizzt's eyes widened when he remembered the phoenix he saw when the teifling , as he realized that was what Killik was, had played that harp, also causing Guenhwyvar to appear as well. But, then he thought about something else that bothered him. "I see… Now then, what brought your… condition about?"

Killik's face reddened slightly in embarrassment. "Erm… it was the meal… you see… I um… have this allergy I inherited from my mother's side… and well… due to something no one in the House is sure of, anyone born into house Rydrion… has this happen to them after eating rosemary."

"_Rosemary?! This… caused by a simple herb?!" _Drizzt thought in disbelief. With so much interesting information revealed to him, he needed some air to think, and let Killik know that he had enough questions answered for now, and that the young teifling should rest and recover until he was well. Once he was sure Killik was asleep, the ranger left his room in Mithral Hall and waited outside the Entry Hall after going through the Maze, hoping to sort through what he learned, and figure out just what he may have gotten himself into.

~O~

_Author's Notes: Well, after a bit of post summer school Writer's Block, here is the next Chapter! It seems Killik's really a teifling, and got a special ability… but, it also seems more questions have been raised as well. What is the cloaked man with the dire wolf hiding about his appearance? Why did Killik say Drizzt would know who else is in his family if he saw the teifling's father or brother? What else is the young acrobat hiding?_

_Well, I'd tell ya, but then that would be spoiling you now wouldn't it? It seems you will have to wait and see dear readers, wait and see. Also, thank you silentmidnightdeath for your review! I hope you like this and later chapters as well!_


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's note 1: Alright, a couple of things._

_Sorry this took a while, school followed by Christmas break has been keeping me busy._

_While doing research, and RPing with some other FR fans on Tumblr, someone had told me that Tieflings were human only, and that Killik was in fact a Fey'ri. So from this point forward, I'll be using that term for Killik instead._

_Also, I had to rewrite this chapter, since I felt what I originally had seemed to introduce too many people to keep up with, so I'm going to try and keep character appearances spaced enough that I can put in some development in this story._

~O~

After Drizzt had left, Killik looked over to the blue phoenix spirit and smiled. The purple spotted Fey'ri noticed his friend was still a bit angry and sighed.

"Thanks for not roasting Drizzt alive back there." he said, "And I'm sorry I made you worry, and that we missed meeting up with Kalandyn. Whatever he wanted to say to me in person, instead of with the Kinderstone while I was on the way here must have been pretty big. " Looking back at the spirit, he saw that it gave him an irritated look, and hopped on the bed until it stood on his chest, and pecked the young drow's forehead a couple of times before flying back to the foot of the bed.

"Ow!" he said cringing. "Alright, alright! I might have put dad in danger by saying that bit about his dad to Drizzt, but I don't think I had much of a choice. If he met dad or Kal, and I hadn't told him what I did, the moment he realized just where dad came from would just cause some serious trust problems. Khrima, you and I both know I need people to trust me, especially with what I am." Killik then let out a yawn, and closed his eyes as he fell asleep.

"Besides… I have someone I want to help…"

~O~O~O~

_Five years ago in the city of Baldur's Gate, a young human girl with blood red hair was sitting on a bench in the garden of her family's manor. It was night time, and she had been having trouble sleeping. She had hoped some fresh air would help her relax, but then she saw something, or rather someone on the top of the wall around the garden. The figure , stood on the top of the wall, but they then seemed to wobble a bit before falling into a bush with a loud "Ow." Curious, the girl walked over to see just who, or what the person was. Grabbing a stick off the ground and holding it like a club, she crept over until she could see the intruder, and had just raised it over her head when she stopped and blinked._

_The trespasser was a young man with coal black skin, short white hair and silver eyes. He had horns and a tail, but the strangest thing about him was that he had a blue mark around his left eye, and he seemed to be talking to himself as he rubbed his lower back._

"_Well, that could have gone better… What do you mean I forgot to check for traps? I didn't pretend to be a part of the staff for a week for nothing. Hey, what matters is that we got proof he's up to something, if I can just take it to the Council of Four like in the plan, we can move on without any more problems." He said, before looking up at the girl, and froze. _

"_Uh… hi there?"_

~O~O~O~

A couple of hours later, Drizzt was standing outside the entrance of Mithral Hall, trying to think. The fresh air was doing well to help clear the ranger's head at the information he had learned from the young fey'ri. While he had first thought Killik was a tiefling, he then remembered his education at Melee Magthere, and reading about the elven variety of infernal blooded beings. Unfortunately, what Killik had told him had raised more questions as he used that time to think about what he had learned and about the strange young male as well.

_A blue elven druid? A house that I had not only haven't heard of, but is allergic to rosemary as well? A drow sorcerer whose father I met in the past? This boy just isn't making much sense. Why does he hide the fact he is a fey'ri, as well as that birthmark? How it is that harp of his became enchanted when he was born? Is that even the true story behind it? How could something like that cause even Guenhwyvar to be visible when unsummoned? Just… who or what is Killik Rydrion really? Yes, he does claim to be a good person, and he did honor our wager in Silverymoon but …_

Unfortunately, the sounds of footsteps coming toward him broke the ranger out of his thoughts. From what he heard, they were being made by a large animal. As it came closer, he could hear the whine of a wolf and he opened his eyes, looked up and saw the source of the sound. Coming toward him, rather quickly as he noticed, was a black Dire Wolf with a white muzzle. The fearsome looking beast with bony plates growing on his back barking something at the cloaked figure on its back. Drizzt raised an eyebrow as his sensitive ears picked up the rider's voice.

"Argryn! Will you slow down?! I know your eager, but you're going to slip off if you don-VITH!" the figure yelled, and the beast made a sudden stop, causing the rider to get thrown forward, hit the ground, and then unceremoniously skid to a halt at Drizzt's feet. With a muffled "Ow," the stranger then got up on his knees, and kept his hood pulled over his face with one hand.

"Are you alright?" the ranger asked, raising an eyebrow at the stranger. The cloaked figure kept his head down as he spoke, as if trying to keep Drizzt from seeing his face for some unknown reason.

"I'm fine… I've been through worse." He said, his voice quiet, "My name is Kalandyn Rydrion, I was told by a guard in Silverymoon that my brother, Killik was seen heading to the gates, and that you had asked about him as well. I'm looking for him, and I have to give him a message. We were supposed to meet in the city… but well…"

"He didn't show up?" Drizzt asked, and seeing Kalandyn nod, he continued. "Killik was keeping his end of a wager I had made with him during a performance he was giving, and I believe rosemary caused him to run off. What is this message you need to give him? I'll tell him for you." The cloaked figure then flinched and quickly shook his head as he raised his hands up defensively.

"No! No!" he said, "Killik needs to hear it from his little brother, if I had someone else give the message to him, then I would be accused of trying to get both of us killed… Killik's and my heritage contains drow blood, and with the Shevarashi out there, it's hard to know who wouldn't try to kill me or my brother if they got close. Please, if you know where my brother is, please, please, take me to him."

The strange drow's pleas were confusing to Drizzt, having never seen drow brothers care for each other like this, or any siblings born among the drow in the Underdark. Usually, drow were so busy plotting against each other that they'd rarely, if ever, formed bonds as an actual family. Then again, something just felt wrong about this whole situation, but he could not put his finger on what it was.

"Will you lower your hood for me then?" the ranger asked, the man he spoke with flinching at the question, "I feel it would be best to see the face of the person asking me a favor, then put my guest in danger."

"I-I can't." Kalandyn answered, pulling his hood down even lower over his face, whether from anxiety or shyness Drizzt couldn't tell. "I… I'm not very comfortable with people seeing my face outside of Riftwood, I've been chased out of towns before because of it. Killik will know me, I promise! Just please, please, please take me to my brother! I'm begging you!"

The ranger then sighed. It was painful for him to see Kalandyn, or just about anyone beg like this, and against his better judgment, relented. "Very well." He told him, and signaled that the cloaked man follow him as he turned around to go through the maze of tunnels leading to Mithral Hall, and the ranger's room.

_**Calimport**_

The poking continued for Artemis as Jarlaxle wouldn't give up. And eventually, the assassin sat up in bed, turned to the drow, and glared.

"What in the nine hells do you want?!" he shouted, while the leader of Bregan Dearthe grinned in victory.

"I need your assistance my old friend." The drow said, before taking his hat off, and pulling out a pile of papers from it. "You see, a month ago in Rashemen, I encountered this upstart rogue, who not only stole a gem that was rumored to be able to locate a magical item that can turn the tide of any battle before I could, but he had the audacity to mock me as if I was a joke!"

"You point?" Artemis asked, not amused at the drow's reason for coming to him.

"He said he'd be in the south western part of faerun before he got away, and I've searched for him here, I've searched for him there, and I can't find that zal'toast anywhere!" Jarlaxle said, the grip he had on the papers he pulled out of his hat tightening. "Is he on the Prime Material, or in The Abyss? Curse that damned, elusive, Blue Phoenix!"

Artemis rolled his eyes at Jarlaxle's ranting. _Oh no, the drow's pride was injured, someone get a cleric. _He thought to himself, and while the brightly dressed drow started going into incomprehensible shouts and curses, his mind went to an incident just about a tenday before…

~O~O~O~

He had been hired to kill the leader of a minor thieves guild that had been quickly climbing through the ranks of Calimport's criminal underworld. He had just visited the base of Dwavel Tigerwillie's old guild that, after the somewhat peaceful century that passed , was now under the control of the halfling's daughter, Merina, who had taken after her mother in several ways. After getting an address for his target, he made his way across Calimport, and had just arrived at his destination when he noticed something happening on the street in front of him. The sky was cloudy that night, and while the moon was full, what little moonlight came through the clouds was only enough to let him see that a lone man wearing a lot of blue was surrounded by some local thugs consisting of half-orcs, a couple of humans, a dwarf, and one surprisingly burly looking gnome. Moving out of sight quickly by hiding behind a barrel, the assassin took note of the gathered group.

The thugs looked pissed, the dwarf hitting his fist against the palm of his other hand, the half-orcs and humans brandishing their weapons and glaring, and the gnome looking the most angered in the group. However, the man in blue, who seemed to be a drow from what little skin Artemis could see combined with the white hair that was tied back into a ponytail, seemed to be unintimidated. Though with the short-beaked, birdlike mask he wore, the man's face was a little difficult for the assassin to read. The blue clothed stranger then stretched his arms towards the sky and gave a yawn before the leader of the thugs surrounding him spoke up.

"You must be pretty stlarning cocky to think you can get away from us so easily after stealing my prized possession, and my records!" the gnome said, while the masked man gave a shrug.

"Well, with your 'wonderful' security of just one spike trap that even a goblin rogue in training could disable, I feel more insulted than cocky." He said, before turning his head to the right and laughed. "Yeah, it seems you were right, he does look like he's been building more muscle than the dwarf! He'd be intimidating if it weren't for that stupid curly mustatche he has! And what's with the single blond curl on his head? He looks like a muscular idiot!"

The group looked at each other in confusion, Artemis himself raising an eyebrow, as they looked at the stranger as they tried to find at least some sign of whoever he was speaking to. However, no one was there, and the thugs and Artemis wondered if the masked man was actually sane.

"Who in the nine hells are you talking to?!" the gnome shouted then, his face seeming a little redder from rage.

"Hm?" the masked drow then said, "Oh right,that was my current employer. Black haired, half-elf, holding his head in his hands, rest of the body heavily scarred, framed for something in Basadoni and killed, does any of that ring a bell to you?" The gnome flinched as his eyes widened in surprise, but then regained his composure.

"Do you think I'm stupid or something?" the angry little gnome said, "Even I know that it's impossible for the dead to hire someone for a theft! Besides, unless you're 'employer' happens to have a tattoo of Battlin' Bethany Glyder on his back, then I ain't got nothing to do with his execution!"

_Well that sounded a little too specific._ Artemis thought, and looked over at the masked stranger, seeing the man give an annoyed frown.

"Yes. Not true. And…" the man said, shifting to appear as if he was looking at something, "Disturbingly enough for me, he does have a tattoo of Bethany Glyder…. Without anything on." His tone when he described the tattoo though, held a hint of disgust, almost as if he had, to Artemis at least, heard about Jarlaxle and the dragon he once slept with. The thought of having to remember that moment forced the assassin to shudder.

An awkward silence fell across everyone gathered in the street, the thugs looking at each other with a mix of confusion, fear, and curiousity about this masked man's sanity. One or two of them coughed a bit, and the gnome leading them just stood there dumbfounded.

"How much of her body do you see?" he then asked, getting a perverted look on his face. The masked man reeled back visibly disgusted as he spoke up.

"Why the hells would I tell you that?!" he said, "It's a tattoo featuring my grandmother for Erevan's sake!"

"WHAT?!" the gnome yelled, while Artemis wondered how all this noise was going on and yet no one had woken up yet to check what was happening, "There is no way a beautiful, curvy, blessed elf like her would screw a damned, dirty drow! Boys! Let's get this liar and teach him a lesson on besmirching the name of one of the Battle Ready Monthly Almanac's most famous and still active Sparring Partners to be featured in the centerfold AND cover!"

"Not listening! Not Listening!" The drow then said, disgusted by the gnome's description of what was apparently a figure from some sort of series of almanacs that had most likely become something even Jarlaxle would enjoy looking at just to make note of any women he recognized from his exploits. Before the assassin could dwell too long on how much bragging the leader of Braegan Dearth would do, the sounds of the thugs charging grabbed his attention as he watched the battle.

The thugs had their weapons drawn. Axes, hammers, knives, a quarterstaff used by one of the humans, and the gnome himself using of a bastard sword with both hands, were ready to strike as they all charged the masked drow at once. However, before they could reach him, their target jumped into the air, the gnome stopping while his underlings crashed into each other, one of the half-orcs getting hit in the skull by another thug's hammer and getting killed in the process. The drow landed on his feet on top the dead thug's body, and clicked his tongue as he wiggled his finger.

"Wow, you try and distract me by talking about a relative, and then attack me when I say something true. You guys must not be the sharpest swords in the barracks." He said, before drawing his own weapons, a rapier with the hand guard designed to resemble a bird's wing and a dagger with a blade that resembled a shard of a broken mirror. The dagger held an aura of magic too it, and for some reason, the assassin thought he had seen the dagger once before, but couldn't remember where. The rapier though, seemed normal until part of the drow's mask started to look like something underneath it was glowing. Next thing Artemis saw, was the rapier's blade become surrounded by a bright blue flame, the moment enough to surprise the thugs as they were preparing to attack again. Taking his chance, the drow became a blue, almost firey looking blur as he attacked.

The gnome stood to the side, acting as if his now 19 underlings would easily take care of the drow, and smirking like he won. But as Artemis saw from the shadows behind the barrel, the drow fought like a mad man. With a few strikes from the rapier, three thugs went down as their clothes caught on fire. While a few of them managed to get a few hits in with their knives, the drow didn't even blink as he simply stabbed one of the half-orcs with his dagger, the mirror like blade glowing as the victim screamed. However, Artemis saw that the drow's injuries started to heal and the assassin quickly put a hand on his own jeweled dagger, surprised to see another blade that could drain the life out of an opponent. As the drow jumped up to kick two thugs that tried to double team him, Artemis watched as he sheathed the dagger, quickly pulled out a grappling hook from behind his back, and launched it at the axe one of the thugs held. The masked drow then grinned, before using it to disarm the owner and using the hook's line to sling the axe around and behead three more thugs as it rewound back into the device.

_Certainly some ingenuity there. _Artemis thought to himself, and then saw as the drow proceeded to kill a rather large half-orc by stabbing upward twice with his weapons, then jumping and stabbing down into the half-orc's back twice, followed by a dodge left, a swing to the right, another swing to the left and a roll to the right, a block using the dagger, and finally ending the move with a head on attack with the flaming rapier. The flaming blue blade struck the thug in the stomach, running him through. However, the half-orc would scream as the fire started consuming his body from within. Next, the human with the quarterstaff swept his weapon across the ground, trying to knock the drow on his feet from behind. However, the drow somehow seemed to sense this as he jumped and landed on the staff itself when the wielder lifted the staff over his head. The human then tried to knock the drow down by spinning the staff, however, the man's eyes widened when he saw that instead of falling off, the drow started running on the spinning staff, his feet going from end to end as it twirled.

"Really?" the masked drow then said as he moved, "Please, I've been doing this trick for years!" The man then started to sing to himself as he kept on the human's staff, the owner soon deciding to throw him off by switching the direction he was twirling the weapon. The human succeeded in throwing the drow off as he landed on his back, and the moment he was stunned gave the thugs an advantage as the dwarf ran over to try and behead the drow with his axe. However, once the dwarf had raised the weapon over his head, something odd happened. The drow didn't even move, or speak, but it was as if something had grabbed the dwarf's weapon and kept him from swinging down.

_Magic? Or is something else protecting this drow?_ Artemis thought as he watched the confused dwarf struggle with whatever was holding him back, only for the weapon to rise and lift him into the air, causing the dwarf to kick helplessly as he held on to his floating weapon. The drow then managed to recover and stand back up, and quickly stabbing the human with the quarterstaff with both his weapons. The unlucky dwarf though, was screaming as his body started showing signs of something attacking him. Claw marks appeared on his armor, surrounded by blue flames much like the rapier the drow wielded, and the dwarf's body caught fire as he screamed in pain as he died.

"Thanks!" the drow yelled to no one, and in the short time after that, the rest of the thugs were defeated and their boss was the only one who remained. Throughout the battle, Artemis had noticed that the gnome had grown quite pale as he watched the battle, and the assassin swore he could smell his fear as he noticed gnome's shadow on the ground seemed a bit darker around his feet. The masked drow then looked over at him, and pointed the flaming rapier at the gnome.

"Just… who are you?" The gnome asked, holding up his bastard sword defensively. The drow simply smirked as he answered.

"Who am I? Well, I'm the masked thief that never sleeps, and the hunter of haunted things. I am the poor being's defense, and the friend of the dead. I've been here and there, but haven't been caught anywhere. It's been said that I've been a shadow on the prime material, or a demon of the abyss. They're not true mind you, I'm just the amazing Blue Phoenix." He said while moving towards the scared gnome as he grinned, his voice also becoming a little musical while he spoke.

"WHAT!" the gnome shouted as he started to shake with fear. Artemis simply watched as the drow moved calmly, that grin reminding him a little of Jarlaxle. "The Blue Phoenix is a damned drow?! I heard he was a man with enormous feet, and a warty nose! Possibly a cleric or a guildmaster from Almraiven!"

"You were expecting maybe, Drizzt Do'Urden?" he asked, sidestepping the sword and getting close to the gnome to flick him on the head and then yank on the single blond curl. Jumping back when the gnome swung, the Blue Phoenix clicked his tongue again. "What's the matter, afraid? Well, since there's a pissed off ghost behind you, that'd probably be a good reason to be that way."

The gnome turned around, his eyes wide with fear as he started looking around in a panic. He saw nothing, and yet he noticed that it was certainly colder tonight than normal in the desert city of Calimport, as he and Artemis noticed, it was low enough to for the gnome to see his own breath.

"Y-You're Insane… Y-you got to b-be!" the frightened thug said, while the thief laughed.

"Maybe I am, I mean, madness is in the family after all." The Blue Phoenix said, "But then again, I've yet to meet anyone who could see what I can without a little help. Anywho, my employer's getting impatient, and he's just given me the okay to let him kill you so…. buh-bye!" The man then waved good bye, turning around and walking across the street as the burly gnome was lifted in the air, and had barely enough time to scream as he had his neck snapped by an unseen force. Once the gnome hit the ground dead, and filled with fear, for a brief moment Artemis thought he saw the outline of a man with his head on a sling at his hip, the head mouthing the words "thank you" before it vanished.

"You're welcome." The drow said then, as if he heard the spectre's voice, and then turned to casually look at where Artemis was hiding. "You can come out now, I'm done here."

The assassin was dumbstruck, how could this man know he was there? Standing up, he held a hand over the hilt of his jewel dagger, his cloak remaining closed in case of trouble.

"How long have you known I was there, and what do you mean by 'done here'?" Artemis asked.

"Hm?" said the drow, "Oh, about… halfway into the fight. A firebird told me you were there, but since he figured you were only a spectator, he told me to just ignore you, take care of the thugs, and just leave with what I stole like I planned. Whatever business you have here, I don't want anything to do with. Besides, those thugs were tailing me from about, five streets over I think. Well, seeya." The blue phoenix then started walking off, leaving a surprised Artemis stunned for a moment to watch him leave.

~O~O~O~

"ARTEMIS! ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?!" Jarlaxle yelled, pulling the assassin out of his thoughts. Artemis stared at the pissed off leader of Bregan D'aerthe, his own glare matching the intensity of the drow's.

"Jarlaxle. I'm not helping you in this." Artemis then said flatly. "When we went our separate ways so long ago, I told you that I wanted nothing more to do with you."

"Well, yes," Jarlaxle said, "But this is important! I have to find that blasted upstart and show him his place!"

The assassin groaned at that statement, realizing just where Jarlaxle was headed. He knew what obsession could do to someone, as he remembered what he went through just to face Drizzt in a duel to the death. Over the years though, he put that rivalry behind him and tried to move on from the past. Seeing Jarlaxle now though, and hearing what he wanted Artemis to do, was enough for the man to keep glaring at the dandy drow as he spoke again.

"Jarlaxle. You're obsessing over a younger theif. I've been on this road before, and it is not something I want to go down again in any way, shape or form. I'm not going to help you in this. I'm not going to be your hound in your little hunt. And I am sure as the nine hells not going to do what you ask, and watch you go mad from obsession." Artemis then said, before standing up, and picking up Jarlaxle by the cape, and the seat of his pants before carrying the drow to the window of his room. "You're on your own. NOW GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!"

With that, Jarlaxle Baenre found himself flying out the window and hitting the streets of Calimport and was about to get up and shout at the assassin when he was immediately hit in the head by the papers he had pulled out of his hat earlier.

~O~

_And thus ends this chapter. The Blue Phoenix has shown up again, but it seems more questions have been raised. Just who was Killik speaking of when he said he had someone to help? What is the message Kalandyn is trying to tell his brother? If Artemis Entreri isn't going to help Jarlaxle, who will? Just what is that treasure The Blue Phoenix stole from that burly gnome? How long will it take for the next chapter to get posted after this one? _

_Anyway, I hope you readers enjoyed the fight scene in Entreri's flashback, and spotted any references I snuck in this chapter as well! Please write a comment or critique on what I have so far, feedback is much appreciated! Next time, we may get an idea on what's really going on in this story._


	6. Chapter 6

Within the tunnels leading into Mithral Hall, Drizzt led Kalandyn and his dire wolf, Argryn, through them. The small group were heading to the drow ranger's room where the cloaked drow's brother rested and recovered. The silence between them was uncomfortable for the cloaked one however, as he turned his head and looked around nervously, his hood somehow managing to stay on with how quickly his head moved.

"Nervous?" Drizzt then asked calmly, not having overlooked Kalandyn's movements. Within the darkness of the tunnels, the ranger's dark vision had kicked in, and he could make out the cloaked drow's facial features a little easier in the infrared spectrum. The hooded drow flinched when he spoke, and as Drizzt saw through the different colors provided by the heat given off between them, he saw that the boy's face had a feminine shape to it, compared to the faces of many male drow he had seen in his life, especially when he was fighting to keep it after he was considered ready for the Academy to train as a warrior, long before he left Menzoberranzan and later, the Underdark itself.

"Uh… w-well…" the hooded drow said, his hands fumbling beneath his cloak. Drizzt could see that the cloak couldn't block his body heat, and saw one of the other drow's hands wrap around the handle of a weapon, one that made the ranger shudder when he noticed it wasn't a sword or an axe, but a whip.

"You have a whip?" the ranger then said absentmindedly, his memories of his sister Briza striking him constantly coming to mind.

"Huh? O-Oh y-yes." Kalandyn said, seemingly unaware of the implications the weapon had for the ranger. "She was a gift from the drow male that taught my grandfather and his two brothers before the four of them fled the Underdark."

"She?" Drizzt then asked, raising an eyebrow. Either the whip was sentient, or this young man was one of those people who liked to treat their weapons like a woman and give them nicknames. Though, to hear that this drow's grandfather was possibly a third born with two living brothers and he wasn't sacrificed to the spider queen was a surprise to the ranger. Of course, his mind didn't last long on that thought since the whip had taken his interest.

"Y-yes, she. Jared said that this whip chooses her wielder. When she's held by someone that has special spark in their soul that she likes, she'll burst into black flames as a sign of acceptance." Kalandyn explained, "When I was about 16, Jared had left her lying on the table while he was talking with my mother, and I picked her up out of curiousity. Imagine his and my own surprise when she just sparked to life in my hands!" He then gave a brief chuckle, as if the memory in question was one that would have been funny if Drizzt had seen it for himself.

"And how did a drow get his hands on such a special whip?" Drizzt then asked, "Sentient weapons aren't very common after all."

"I think he said something about finding her in a chest on the surface when he was going after someone who messed up a raid." Kalandyn said, tapping his chin. "Jared also told me that she was too grateful to be out of that chest to care what her current wielder at the time was that she accepted him as her master. He had her as his weapon for about 444 years I believe."

Drizzt blinked at the number, surprised that any male drow could have held on to such a special weapon to themselves without a priestess of Lolth trying to take it for her own use. But then again it seemed house Rydrion was, as he had gathered from what Killik had mentioned of it and being around Kalandyn, a mad house that didn't follow the social norms of drow society.

"So… anything you want to tell a story about?" Kalandyn then said, from what Drizzt could tell in his darkvision, the cloaked drow's face was glowing red from embarrassment, as if he didn't like being the center of attention. The ranger heard the dire wolf with them growl something before letting out a few quick wheezes, causing the cloaked drow to mutter "Clau." Under his breath. Apparently the beast had said something to the younger male as a joke.

"Well, once I and a former companion of mine, Wulfgar, were out taking care of a group of giants." Drizzt then said, deciding to humor Kalandyn's request, "We decided that I would get their attention, while Wulfgar waited in the tunnel, and I would lure them into it."

"What happened?" Kalandyn then asked.

"I got their attention like planned, and also took a piece of meat off their table, and so I ran back to the cave with them following behind, moved to the side and started eating. Wulfgar asked where the giants were, and I told him they were right behind me." Drizzt then said, pausing to laugh at the memory. "The reaction he had to the giants entering the cave, and chasing him while I remained hidden in the shadows off to the side was priceless. He shouted a phrase in the Elk Tribe's tongue that translated to 'may the fleas of a thousand reindeer nest in your genitals!' as he ran. We did manage to defeat the giants though." The ranger then smiled at the memory, he missed the barbarian in all honesty, much like his other companions especially Cattie-Brie. Wulfgar had died of old age only 50 years ago, after fighting a trio of yetis and winning. When the human had passed on afterward, Bruenor wept for losing his adopted son a second time, and had him buried along with the rest of Mithral Hall's great heroes.

The two continued through the tunnels, swapping stories as they made their way to Drizzt's room, and Killik.

~O~O~O~

As Jarlaxle Baenre walked through the streets of Calimport, he thought about the Blue Phoenix and how disrespectful he acted towards the master of Bregan D'aerthe. The younger rogue seemed to be arrogant, underestimating of his betters, and above all, a complete show off.

It was at that moment Jarlaxle stopped and thought.

"Perhaps I'm going about this the wrong way." He said to himself before smiling, "Yes, that's it! Instead of killing him, perhaps I should use him as a distraction for my own schemes, Recruit him into Bregan D'aerthe, teach him some respect in the process, and I will not only have myself a new asset, but the wonderful chaos that boy can cause while I do my own work will be quite entertaining as well. Jarlaxle, you are brilliant!" the colorful drow laughed as he walked down the street towards the city's port, thinking of plans to use so he could convince the Blue Phoenix to join him, thinking nothing could go wrong.

"Blue Phoenix, your future is in my hand!" Jarlaxle said as he walked, the numerous pieces of jewelry he wore clinking and jingling as he moved. However, he sensed that he was being watched then, and in order to catch whoever was watching him, pretended not to notice as his words reached someone else after his future pawn.

"Someone else is after him?" the strange avariel with green and orange wings said, before taking flight and following the brightly dressed drow from above as the winged elf thought: _The Blue Phoenix is my quarry, and no one else's. I better talk some sense into that fool outside the city…_

~O~O~O~

"… and then he just ran headfirst into the plowshare!" the ranger said as he related the story of how he managed to take care of annoying quickling- a very speedy sprite- and he and Kalandyn laughed as they entered the lavender eyed drow's room. Of course, a groan from the bed let them know that they had accidentally disturbed Drizzt's other guest, and the two rangers looked over to the recovering fey'ri. Kalandyn gave a sigh when he looked over at his brother, before he smirked and turned to speak to Drizzt.

"Pardon me for asking this, but has your friend, Guenhwyvar, been formally introduced to my brother?" Kalandyn then said, "I'm sure he'd love to meet such a wonderful cat."

Killik's tail then shot upward, as if something his younger brother said had gotten his attention, shifting in the bed and sitting up, the fey'ri frowned.

"It's nice to see you too Kal," He said flatly, his face not as spotted as before thanks to resting, while his long white hair hung loose instead of braided like it was before, "and you know full well I hate cats!"

"You stood me up." Kalandyn said in reply, crossing his arms. "You said you'd meet with me in Silverymoon, and you ran out of town on me. I felt this was decent payback."

"Solonor's longbow, Kal!" Killik then said, as he raised his hands in exasperation, "How was I supposed to know there would be rosemary in the food?! I should go over there and take your hood off just because you're mad over a little bad luck on my part."

"Y-You wouldn't dare!" Kalandyn then said, flinching a bit. But seeing Killik's grin despite the purple spotted drow's condition, caused the cloaked male to gulp. With a flick of the fey'ri's tail, Drizzt watched as something –his guess being Khrima –grabbed at the hood and pulled it back, revealing Kalandyn's face to be blue in the fire that lit the room, and his white hair cut short enough that it barely passed the nape of his neck. However, the blue elf's eyes, as Drizzt turned his head to get a better look, were amber instead of silver like Killik's. Of course, Drizzt had forgotten the older brother's words when he noticed that Kalandyn's face was very feminine, more so than what he had seen back in the tunnels.

"Killik!" Kalandyn said, frowning at his brother, "You know how I feel about showing my face outside of Riftwood!"

"Relax Kal, there are only guys here, so you don't have to worry about getting followed around by girls." Killik said before chuckling a bit, "Now then, what did you want to talk to me about that was so important little brother?"

Kalandyn walked over to the bed and sat down, before he spoke to his older brother… or rather, punched him in the face first.

"What the nine hells Killik?!" the blue elf then said, "You go off adventuring five years ago, and when you do visit home and mom asks about it, you don't say a word about what you've been doing! Mom, Dad, and even Emeraude are worried that you've gotten yourself into some serious trouble that you can't get out of on your own! Dad is especially afraid you got yourself mixed up with Jarlaxle and his goons! Not to mention lately I've been hearing rumors on my way here to Silverymoon about someone called The Blue Phoenix going around and gathering cursed or haunted treasures and in the process doing strange things like talking to thin air, or humming to himself while escaping armed guards, or running from some avariel from Chult, and something about a stage show! Killik, as your brother, I know that what they're saying about the phoenix is a lot like you… except for the stage show, but you better explain right now just what is going on!"

"I told Madame Pomp not to advertise that show until after I got back to Baldur's Gate… one of her dancers must have had loose lips…" Killik said, "Better be careful aft-"

"Killik Alakven Rydrion!" Kalandyn shouted, causing the fey'ri to flinch at the use of his full name, "Just get to the explanation already!"

Killik looked to Drizzt for help, but the lavender eyed drow simply shook his head. The fey'ri had gotten into this through his actions, and it would seem he had to get himself out. Looking to the side at Khrima, the spirit phoenix invisible to Drizzt and Kalandyn, the horned drow sighed. "Looks like I don't have a choice, huh partner?"

Khrima answered with a nod, which caused the ill man to groan.

"I was afraid you'd agree with them." Killik then said, before looking back to his brother and their host. "Okay, I'll tell you two, but after I do, you're both going to help me out with the last of my work, got it?"

"We shall see after you tell us." Drizzt said, while Kalandyn nodded in agreement.

"Fair enough." Killik said, before laying back against the headboard of the bed, and prepared to tell his story.

~O~O~O~

_And that's it for this chapter! Next time, Killik's going to tell what happened from his point of view. But, of course it also seems Jarlaxle has changed goals while a new player has entered the game. What is going to happen? Will Jarlaxle get an ally in his search for The Blue Phoenix? Or is the stranger not going to last long? Will the next chapter be up sooner than this one? Find out next time!_


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